Among the more than 5,000 acres of open land protected by the Congaree Land Trust in 2009 was more than a mile of the scenic blackwater stream, Lemon Creek, in Bamberg County. The Congaree Land Trust, the leading land protection organization for central South Carolina, had a banner year in 2009, protecting more than 5,000 acres of working farms and forests, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and other significant green space.

These unique properties were protected with conservation easements and included longleaf pine forests in Williamsburg County, mature bottomland hardwood forests in Bamberg County, a historic millpond in Lee County, valuable farm and forest land in Clarendon County, and nearly 2,000 acres within the COWASEE Basin Focus Area in Richland County.

According to Billy Cate, executive director of the Congaree Land Trust, a 501c(3) non–profit conservation organization headquartered in Columbia, the total number of conservation easements held by the Congaree Land Trust at the end of 2009 stands at 80, representing more than 27,000 acres.

“Working with private landowners, the real heroes of land conservation, has been a very rewarding and satisfying experience” says Cate, who has a broad background in business, sales, and land and forest management. “Our efforts at the Congaree Land Trust have been entirely dependent upon conservation– minded landowners who want to see their lands protected in perpetuity.”

Cate’s involvement with conservation easements is personal as well as professional. A few years ago, he and his brother and sister put their 1000–acre farm in lower Richland County into a conservation easement with the Congaree Land Trust. “We have very strong ties to this property that has meant so much to us over the years and wanted to see it remain as a working farm and forest as well as continuing to provide habitat for wildlife, watershed protection, and open space.”

“Conservation easements are a definite win– win,” says Cate. “Landowners can be assured that their land will always remain undeveloped. “In exchange for giving up their development rights, landowners can, in some cases, be entitled to significant tax savings.”

Landowners continue to own and live on their property as before and manage it for agriculture, forestry, wildlife management, and general out- door recreation. They can sell it or pass it on to heirs; however, a conservation easement is permanent and is recorded with the property much like a deed.

The Congaree Land Trust has been working with private landowners to protect significant lands in central South Carolina since 1992. It is the second largest land trust in the state and ranks 13th out of 150 land trusts in the Southeast.

For more information, call 803-988-0000; email at info@congareelt. org or visit www.congareelt. org.